Christianity is an upside down, unexpected religion
By Elizabeth Prata
Allen S. Nelson IV @cuatronelson said on Twitter/X,
It doesn’t matter what you accomplish in this life, how big an empire you build, how many great things people say about you — if God doesn’t know you, it’s a life wasted.
Conversely, it doesn’t matter how little you have, how unpopular you may be, how insignificantly the world thinks of you — if God knows you, it is a life well lived.
That got me thinking again about what an upside down lifestyle Christianity is. It’s the opposite of what the world teaches us. It’s the opposite of what our flesh tell us. It’s the opposite of that you would expect.
The path to eternal life is narrow, as opposed to the broad path to destruction. The first shall be last. The last shall be first. Humble yourself and you will be exalted, but exalt yourself and you will be humbled. Love your enemy, do not hate your enemy.
God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. When man makes a religion, as all others are (Catholicism, Mormonism, Buddhism, Islam, Wicca etc) we see that it focuses on man. They are religions that show our works, our strength, our thoughts. Who could think up such a plan as the Gospel? That our Very God would incarnate into human flesh? Teach, preach, live sinlessly, and die? The Gospel itself is upside down, unexpected, wholly outside of man’s imagination!
Yet, it is true.
And aren’t we glad that God is not a God we can ‘figure out’? He is transcendent. That means He is outside of us, outside of the creation. Wholly other.
Psalm 40:5 says, Many, LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is no one to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.
